Beauty and the Beast
by Mercurial Fire
Summary: Beauty and the Beast redone in my imagination. James is a cursed beast. Lily is an innocent lady. What happens when they come together? An L/J story of finding true love.
1. Chapter 1

This idea just came to me after seeing a play based on Beauty and the Beast. I had also just read a new perspective on the story by Robin McKinley.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Part of the plot belongs to Robin McKinley and part to Disney. The rest is mine!

**Beauty and the Beast**

Once upon a time, in a far, far away land, there lived a handsome prince. Breathtakingly handsome, but also selfish.

In the middle of a harsh and cold winter, a defenseless, old hag asked him for shelter. In return, she offered him a single red rose. The prince was untouched by the woman's need for shelter and warmth. He refused her offer harshly, asking what he could want with a rose.

And the hag turned into a beautiful enchantress, and she cursed the prince. He would live as a beast until he learned compassion for those in need and how to love, and only then would he revert to his human form.

But there was more to the curse. The one he loved must love him in return and willingly agree to marry him. But she could have no knowledge of the curse. The one he loved must think that she was marrying a beast and that he would remain a beast.

The enchantress left the rose as a reminder to the prince of the curse and as a time limit. The rose became a symbol of the prince's life. He could only live as long as the rose was still alive.

And so the handsome prince turned into a horrid beast. Yet his castle changed to be even more beautiful, sparkling with quartz and polished marble as a reminder of what he had been.

The castle itself was bound under a huge enchantment to take the best care of anyone who stayed there. The beds made themselves, and the food cooked itself. Everything was of the finest quality, and no servants were needed.

His servants were offered the chance to stay or leave. Two of his loyal friends stayed, while all the rest in the huge castle took the chance to leave.

The beautiful gardens of the castle flourished, but no animal of any kind entered the area. No birds, squirrels, or even butterflies could stand to be near the beast.

The beast lived in anguish knowing that he had been selfish, and he wished for a reprieve every day of his punishment. He tended to the rose more carefully than he ever had for anything else, knowing well that there was little chance that he would ever find a lady willing to marry a beast, no matter how long he lived.

Soon rumors circulated about the mysterious and beautiful castle. Every young girl in the village quickly heard stories about the horrible beast that lived in the castle, and how he was waiting for the chance to kidnap them and eat them.

And so the beast grew bitter, angry with himself as years passed. His friends tried finding potential wives, but they all ran at the sight of the beast. Many more came to the beautiful castle for a night of rest as they traveled, but they left as soon as possible when they met the master of the castle. Soon the area surrounding the castle grew into a tangled forest. As the forest became harder to navigate, fewer visitors arrived at the castle.

After a few years, people forgot about the castle and the horrible beast, but there remained stories of the enchanted forest that should be avoided at all costs.

* * *

First off, I want you to know that this is a Lily/James fic. And I also wanted you to know that the beloved Disney characters don't exist. Sorry :(

Ok, this story is going to be different from my other stories for two reasons. First, I'm trying to write a long chapter story.

And for this fic, I'm going to ask the readers to do their part. If you want the next chapter to be about James/from his POV, write a review and type 'hazel' at the end. If you want the next chapter to be about Lily/from her POV, write a review and add 'green' to the end.

When I have five votes in either direction, I'll post the next chapter. If I never get five votes in either direction, the story dies.

Your choice. Review!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Ookay..I'm really sorry this took so long, but school overwhelmed me. :/

Anyways, here's chapter two :)

By the way, Sirius and Remus are both human, and Peter doesn't exist because I'm never really sure how to write him.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine.

* * *

James strode down the hall, his cloak billowing out behind him.

It had been many long years since he had been human. And today was not a good day.

Sirius was walking out of the library when he saw James turn the corner. "Hey, James! Wait up," he called as he rushed to catch up to his friend.

As he ran around the corner, James was nowhere to be found.

_I guess today's not a good day. I better leave him alone, at least until Remus gets back. _Sirius thought as he walked off towards his room to settle for a good read.

James pushed the tapestry aside and scanned the hall for Sirius. When he realized Sirius was nowhere in sight, he rushed out from behind the tapestry and into his study. He closed the door quietly behind him.

Sighing, he sat down at his desk, contemplating the long years he had spent as a beast. Today was making out to be a bad day, when the curse was all he could think of. As the years went by, these days seemed to strike him more and more often. Consuming his thoughts were the regret for the things he did, anger at himself and the sorceress, frustration at his failed chances, and, most of all, hope for a future. Hope for a young lady who was open enough to love a beast.

James growled in frustration. He knew that such a young lady was nonexistent. Even now, not even 10 years after the curse had been set, he didn't house visitors anymore. The stories had been told, the damage done.

And yet, the rose lived on, thriving in his study, giving him a false hope. False because he now knows there is no chance for him.

James glanced at the rose, on the corner of his desk, sitting beautifully in a glass vase. About nine years after his transformation, the rose looked the same as it had on that first day. Yet, James himself hadn't seemed to age, either.

_As if I can tell how a beast ages, _his pessimistic thoughts butted in. _For all I know, I could be 90 years older now_.

_But Sirius and Remus don't age either!_ came the stubborn retort. _So there must be some anti-aging spell as part of the curse._

_Even if they don't age, I know what I have to do,_ the unyielding side of James interjected. _It has taken me too long._

He sighed as he contemplated what he knew he had to do. What he knew he had to do from the very first day of the curse.

"James?" came a voice from the door.

Remus opened the door hesitantly, before stepping inside. _Remus is back,_ James thought belatedly.

"I just got back from the village," here Remus paused, while thinking of how to tell James the news. "And it seems that everyone thinks there's some terrifying beast that lives in the enchanted forest. So...none of them wanted to come." Remus finally let out as he braced himself for the outburst that was surely to come.

But James surprised him, responding with a level head. "That's no surprise, Remus." He sighed, and then muttered, "I've been thinking, anyways." Here he paused, searching for the right words that would convince Remus. "And I think it would be better if you and Sirius left. There's no hope for me anymore, but you two could still be happy. And you two deserve your own happy endings, no matter what happens to me. I'm giving up."

Remus stared incredulously at his oldest friend. "What are you saying? You're just going to give up?"

"What else can I do?! There's no hope anymore, Remus!!" James retorted. More softly he said, "Remus, you've wasted a good nine years here with me. I appreciate all you've done, you have no idea how much I appreciate it, but now even you must realize that it's useless to keep trying!"

~.~.~

Sirius peeked out into the hall. He'd heard shouting coming from the study and realized Remus must have returned. He sighed as he closed his book, and strolled down the hall towards the study, to stop the argument. _Must James rant after every trip? Of course these villages share their myths, especially since they think there's danger. It's basically impossible to find a village that hasn't heard the news._

Sirius paused at the slightly open door when he heard a different tone, one not usually present in these 'lectures' about the human need for gossip.

~.~.~

"James," Remus started softly, "you're like our brother, we're not going to desert you now, or ever."

At this, Sirius burst into the room. "Of COURSE we're your brothers, James!! How could you ever think otherwise?"

James stood up from his desk and stormed over to where Remus and now Sirius were standing by the door. "You said yourself that you two are my brothers. Do you really expect me to let you live this horrible half life? Living in a cursed castle, never finding your own destinies, and wasting your life trying to change mine? There is no hope anymore, now I can see that, and I shouldn't have let you stay in the first place."

"James, you just need to si-"

"Remus! You're not listening to me!" James interrupted. "I don't need to 'sit and think this out rationally' or whatever you were going to say. I've thought this out, every day, for hours, I've agonized over this, but you guys can't waste your lives like this."

"Stop and listen to yourself, James," Sirius replied. "We can't just leave you here. That's basically condemning you to die!"

"Really, James. Do you think we could live with ourselves happily if we knew that we had left you to die?" Remus asked.

"No…I guess you couldn't," James agreed reluctantly.

"Good. Then it's settled," Sirius finished, walking towards the map. "I'll go to that village next month," pointing to a small town, two days travel from the castle."

"Sure," James said suddenly drained and exhausted. He had failed in the one thing that mattered, yet part of him cheered at his failure. He slid back into his seat and put his head down, signifying that he wanted to be alone.

~.~.~

Remus and Sirius looked at James sitting there, a hulking figure behind the study desk, before they walked out together.

"Did you have any idea he was thinking about this?" Remus questioned Sirius while walking towards the main hall, to eat.

"None. It seemed like a regular bad day earlier when I saw him," Sirius responded, following Remus because he was always hungry.

They walked in silence for a while longer, the Remus whispered, "We'll have to keep an eye on him, or he might catch us off guard and try this again."

"Mhmm," Sirius agreed. They were both well aware of the magic James had started developing soon after the transformation. He could control the whole castle, and all the invisible moving servants with a few choice words, and sometimes, he could even manipulate their emotions.

As they entered the hall, both were reflecting over how much their once selfish friend had changed, that he now put the value of their happiness above the value of his life.

* * *

Chapter two: done!

Okay, just a few notes about the story here;

First, I'm really bad about updating, and school frequently overwhelms me, but I'll try my best to do everything to post regularly :)

Second, I've decided that I don't really care how many reviews I get, as long as I get reviews, but don't forget that you can vote for which POV I'll use in the next chapter.

Third, This story is not going to completely follow Beauty and the Beast, because that would be boring, and everyone would know what's going to happen, so I'm going to deviate from the Disney and McKinley storylines.

Please REVIEW! Constructive criticism, unadulterated praise, I love both ;)  
And dont forget to add "hazel" if you think I should write another chapter about James, and "green" if you think I should write a chapter about Lily :D

~Mercurial Fire

PS I'm very open to suggestions about how this story should go, so if you have any ideas, leave a review.


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